The 10 Most Brutal Hell in a Cell Matches in WWE History

The 2012 Hell in a Cell event was capped with Ryback hitting CM Punk with a Shellshocked on top of the cell after Punk retained his WWE Championship under shady circumstances.

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When you think about it, it is pretty apt that the WWE would choose to have their most brutal and scariest event near Halloween as the fifth annual Hell in a Cell event takes place on October 27.

The cell is an unforgiving structure that has bore witness to some of wrestling's most violent happenings over the course of history as some of the biggest names in the industry have literally put their bodies through hell to achieve success.

Although aptly associated with wrestlers like the Undertaker, other performers such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Batista have found success in "Satan's Structure."

10. DX vs. the McMahons Feat. Big Show, Unforgiven (2006)

This match was more humor than brutality, but there was brutality all the same.

Following their victory over Vince and Shane McMahon and SummerSlam, DX proceeded to engage the McMahons in a little tit-for-tat, such as vandalizing the WWE headquarters and Vince's jet and limousine. Vince and Shane responded by attacking DX during their match with Finlay, William Regal and Mr.Kennedy on the August 28, 2006 episode of Raw, with the help of Big Show. Afterwards, Vince would go on to set this match up.

The match had some bright spots and a few scary ones, such as when Shawn Michaels hit a diving elbow on Shane McMahon while his head was stuck in a steel chair. Another spot saw Vince's head crammed into Big Show's rear-end.

Ultimately, it was DX who proved victorious when Triple H struck Vince McMahon with a sledgehammer.

9. Undertaker vs. Triple H, WrestleMania XXVIII (2012)

In what was to be the final WrestleMania encounter between these two men, The Undertaker and Triple H faced off in a Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.

In a bout that lasted 30 minutes, both men were stretched to their limits. One spot saw Triple H hit Taker with a spinebuster on some steel steps while Taker went off on Triple H with a steel chair. Another spot saw Michaels superkick Taker into a pedigree from Triple H.

Ultimately Taker won his 20th WrestleMania event after hitting Triple H with a Tombstone Piledriver. The match was capped off when the three embraced at the top of the ramp at the end of their match.

8. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H, Bad Blood (2004)

In what was one of the best rivalries of all time, Shawn Michaels and Triple H continued their long-running feud with a violent Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood in 2004.

The bloody mess saw the two exchange the upper hand many times throughout the match, such as when Triple H hit Michaels with the steel steps and another time when Michaels hit a diving elbow on Triple H from the top of a ladder and through a table.

7. Triple H vs. Chris Jericho, Judgment Day (2002)

In a WrestleMania X8 rematch between Chris Jericho and Triple H, both men brought the house down with their Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day. This match was recognized as brutal due to the sheer emotions both men conveyed throughout the match.

Their story was told through the wrestling, and that sets this match apart from the rest of the Hell in a Cell matches. Once again, Triple H won with a pedigree to Jericho.

6. Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, Bad Blood (1997)

This was the very first Hell in a Cell match in the WWE (WWF at the time).

At Bad Blood in 1997, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker faced off for the chance to battle Bret Hart at Survivor Series for the WWF Championship. Undertaker was quick to bring the fight to Michaels during the beginning of the match with Michaels mostly unable to mount an offense of his own.

At one point in the match, both men were fighting on top of the cell and Michaels was knocked off. With Michaels dangling helplessly, Taker stomped on his fingers forcing him to let go and fall through the spanish announce table.

Once the two made it back into the ring, Taker was ready to put Michaels away until the debuting Kane hit Taker with a Tombstone Piledriver, ultimately handing the win to Michaels.

5. Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar, No Mercy (2002)

After retaining his WWE Championship at Unforgiven, Brock Lesnar and his manager were forced to compete against the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy. The match, which ended up with both guys and Heyman bloodied, saw Lesnar win with an F5 to retain his title.

The match culminated after weeks of Lesnar and Heyman getting into Taker's head and disrupting his relationship with his wife Sara, and was as brutal as they come. The image of Lesnar climbing to the top of the cage and hoisting the WWE Championship in victory is one that is still etched in the mind of WWE fans everywhere.

4. Undertaker vs. Edge, SummerSlam (2008)

For the better part of 2008 we saw a brutal program between Undertaker and Edge, with the World Heavyweight Title being the focal point for most of their feud. But when Taker lost to Edge at One Night Stand, Taker took some time off. However, upon his return, he was put into a Hell in a Cell match with Edge at SummerSlam.

One of the biggest moments of this otherwise brutal match (one of the last with the exception of WrestleMania 28's HiaC) was when Edge speared Taker through the Cell wall. Edge would ultimately be chokeslammed from the top ropes through two tables positioned outside of the ring. Following his victory, however, Taker came back to the ring and chokeslammed Edge through the ring, thus "sending him to Hell."

3. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack, No Way Out (2000)

Cactus Jack began feuding with Triple H in early 2000 after the beginning of the McMahon-Helmsley era, when he began to rebel against the dominant faction. After their street fight at the Royal Rumble for the WWF Championship, Triple H let Jack pick the match type for their next battle. Jack would pick a Hell in a Cell match, to which Triple H established that if he won Jack would have to retire.

The two would fight with everything from steel chairs to a flaming 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire. After breaking through the cell wall, the two men carried their fight to the top of the cell. Jack attempted a piledriver, but Triple H reversed it sending him through the cell roof to the ring below, where the ring would buckle.

A pedigree to Jack immediately after gave Triple H the win and ended Foley's career.

2. 6-Man Hell in a Cell, Armageddon 2000

The six-man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon in 2000 was absolute bedlam, as it included Kurt Angle, Rikishi, Undertaker, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. The action was fast and furious from the start, with each man taking out their fury on one another.

Each man had a chance to execute their signature moves on each other, while Vince McMahon, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco went to work trying to stop the match by attempting to demolish the cell with a truck. Then-WWF Commissioner Mick Foley ordered the trio to leave, as the police escorted McMahon out of the arena.

At one point, all six men were on top of the cell, and, as they were fighting, Taker chokeslammed Rikishi off the top of the cell and into the bed of the truck below. Taker responded to this by rolling his eyes in the back of his head and sticking his tongue out.

The end of the match was a shocker, as Austin performed a stunner on Rock, only to have Angle sneak in for the pin and claim the WWF Championship. He was paid back with a stunner from Austin following the pin.

1. Undertaker vs. Mankind, King of the Ring (1998)

"Good God Almighty! Good God Almighty! That killed him! As God as my witness he is broken in half!"

Jim Ross' words still ring in our head when we think about the match that came to define the brutality that is Hell in a Cell. The violence of Satan's Structure was encompassed by this match, where both men went above and beyond their limits.

Mankind had restarted his feud with Undertaker at the beginning of the month, and, as a result of this feud, the two were booked for a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring. Not two minutes into the match, Taker threw Mankind off the top of the Cell and through the Spanish announcers table, causing J.R. to utter that famous phrase.

After the doctors tried to wheel Mankind out of the arena on a stretcher, he went back to the ring to continue his battle with Taker. Both men climbed to the top of the ring despite Mankind having a dislocated shoulder and Taker sporting a broken foot. They proceeded to brawl on top of the cell before Taker chokeslammed Mankind through the cell's roof causing him to hit the ring hard and knocking him unconscious briefly.

However, the hardcore Mankind got right back up, and proceed to pour thumbtacks all over the ring, only to be chokeslammed onto these tacks before Taker clinched the win with a Tombstone Piledriver.